Persuasive Speech Guidelines – Online
Our final major speaking assignment of the semester gives you the opportunity to work on a persuasive presentation; you will use your presentation to “influence audience members’ attitudes, beliefs, values, and/or behavior by appealing to some combination of their needs, desires, interests, and even fears” (O’Hair et al 171).
Content
Your speech should be adapted to a specific audience – our class at NHCC – and you should select a real-life, significant problem that has some sort of personal impact on the members of your audience. The problem must also be something local and personal to the Twin Cities (or your local community if you are taking the class remotely outside of the Twin Cities). A speech on a general persuasive topic will not be allowed for this assignment.
A specific, concrete solution must be presented to the audience. It should be relatively easy, convenient, and simple enough for them to do. The solution cannot be something so broad, big, or general that the audience is incapable of putting it into action. It does not have to completely solve the problem discussed in the speech, but should at least provide a good starting point for the audience to help address or mitigate the problem. To put this another way, your solution must involve individual action – something that an individual can do on their own. The solution should NOT involve collective action, which involves groups of people at the local, state, national, or even international level.
Evidence using all three artistic proofs (ethos, pathos, logos) are required for this assignment. Pathos is the type of evidence most commonly absent in student arguments, so make sure you have some emotional appeals along with evidence of your credibility and verifiable facts.
At least 4 acceptable sources (i.e. no Wikipedia, about.com, or other encyclopedic sources are allowed) must be included in the following: 1.) a separate reference/works cited section ( MLA format) at the end of the outline, 2.) in the text of the outline where they are cited in the speech, and 3.) verbally cited in your speech (PowerPoint references do not count, they must be spoken aloud).
The verbal citations in the speech must have three pieces of information:
1.) The author or organization that wrote/published the information
2.) The source where the information was found (website, article name, book, etc.)
3.) The date of publication for the information or when you accessed it.
There is a description of citing sources in the outline instructions document as well. The citation format is the same as with the demonstrative and informative speeches.
Outline and Citation Instructions
Purpose: To organize speech material into clear, discrete sections, observe a rhythm or flow to the speech on paper, and create a document that can be used for practicing/rehearsing the speech before the performance.
Outlines
Include the following sections for your outline as detailed below. There are models from former students on D2L in the content section that you can compare to your own outline. Your outline will not be identical but should look pretty similar in terms of its overall format based on the following criteria.
–
A complete introduction and conclusion broken down, separated, and labeled into their basic components. The five elements we discussed in class for intros and the four elements for conclusions should all be present. They should be fairly detailed and may be written in paragraph form. This is as close to the exact language you intend to use in the speech as possible. Points will be deducted for general statements or intents that are too broad or vague.
Medium-length single sentences should be used for every point or subpoint in the body. Paragraphs or longer sentences are only allowed if you are quoting a source found in your research or if they appear in the intro/conclusion. Single sentences only (and no run-ons)! In addition, make sure there is a clear subordinating structure (such as I., A., 1., a.) to distinguish main from sub points using a Roman Numeral style structure. Bullet points or something less formal like keyword expressions will not receive points, so use a specific format of single sentences consistently from point to point. There should also be enough details provided in the body so that there are both main points and subpoints underneath them to flesh out the speech’s content.
Transitions should be present and clearly labeled between all major points, including the introduction and body, all main points in the body, and then the body and conclusion.
References (or in-text citations) should be present in the outline (intro, body, or conclusion) where you intend to mention them in the speech.
There should be a bibliography after the conclusion written in MLA style.
–
There is a blank template available on D2L under this document. Download and use that document when drafting your own outline. You do not need to fill in every main point or subpoint, but every part of the introduction, transitions, conclusion, and bibliography, and at least 2 – 3 main points with some subpoints should be completed. Students who do not use the template often lose points because something is missing from their finished outline or required elements aren’t labeled correctly. Please use the template when drafting your outline.
Citations
Each source you verbally cite in the speech assignments for this course should have the following 3 relevant pieces of information:
–
The author or organization that wrote/published the material.
The book, website, or source where you found the information.
The date the information was published OR the date you accessed the information online.
–
This is one way it can look, but play around with whatever rhythm sounds good to you: “According to John Que in his 1999 book “The World of Yoga…” Or if you interview someone the same technique will apply: “According to an interview conducted with Jane Que on February 3, 2014…). If you have a source and can’t identify the author, go with “unknown author” to make sure you have that element stated as well.
Below I’ve included the template, my topic explanation and the rubric for the assignment. I do not have resources for my topic and 4 are required, please include that into the outline. Thank you
